Opening statement:
"Good day. Chose to come inside just because we did not want them slipping and sliding out there on the snow. I thought last Friday was really good, but this Friday, I am anxious for you guys to get into the locker room and see if they are still as chippy. There was a lot of competition going on. It was a really active, fast practice and got a lot out of it."
On if DL Larry Ogunjobi did more in today's practice:
"He did more today. Now, we will just see the residual of what happens after he has done more and come back in tomorrow morning. Practiced much more today, yes. We will see."
On who will fill Ogunjobi's role if he is unable play:
"We have been rotating all of those guys in there. Those guys inside have to be playing both the tight end side and the wider inside position. We will rotate all of those guys in there. We even rotate defensive ends in there, too. We do a lot of those things. It depends on what package we have out there."
On RB Duke Johnson Jr. returning to practice:
"Seemed good. I am anxious to go watch the film, but he was there today. You guys will be able to see him in the locker room. It is up to him."
On DB Terrance Mitchell's probability to play on Sunday:
"Good day. If there is no set back, but he had a really good day today. He was the topic of a lot of conversations on how well he practiced out there today."
On when he will decide Mitchell's availability for Sunday:
"Tomorrow."
On if discussions of playoff possibility have been mentioned to the team again this week:
"We have been ever since it was brought up in here. We did it again this week, too. We have been treating each and every week like a playoff game. Say it like a playoff game, it is about winning. It is about a competition and how you go about preparing to win each and every week and each and every day. That is just a part of it – another incentive part of it. It is something that we do not look the other way on, but now, we have to go execute on Sunday."
On the number of explosive plays surrendered on defense:
"We are always after trying to eliminate the explosive plays. We did a really good job last year in the pass game. We have done it again here in the pass game. We have had a few runs pop. From a defensive point of view, you are always trying to make sure that you are eliminating those types of explosive plays. No matter, if you play 85 plays right and two pop, those are the things that advance you in the scoring opportunities. We had a couple of those last week. We played really dominant in a lot of different areas, but a couple of plays pop that put them into scoring opportunities. We kept them out of the touchdowns, but there were field goals. You have to try to keep points off of the board. They usually result on a series where there is an explosive play. We have to limit those."
On Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera comparing Mayfield to former Bears QB Jim McMahon:
"I know Jim personally. I played some golf with him in some tournaments in some charity situations. I can't reflect on that, but Ron has played with a lot of people. I was not coaching at that time in this league when Jim was still playing, but Baker has come on and shown a lot of different people that he has the ability to win games and can't wait to see him get back out there again this week to reset things and get ready to roll. He had a good week."
On Mayfield having a flair like McMahon:
"Yeah, he has a flair, and I would that. Each of those guys that are anybody at that position have a confidence about them. I look at it more from a confidence standpoint. That is how I see Baker."
On who won the golf game between McMahon and him:
"The great one was he got upset because I took the money and he threw all of his clubs in the lake beside the clubhouse. No, he did. Wait, this is even better. Then he leaves and all of a sudden I see him come back out, and he goes out there and pulls the golf bag out of the lake. You want to know why? His car keys are in the golf bag, and he threw the golf bag back in there and went and got in his car. Yeah, it was good. He played barefoot the whole day, too."
On where the tournament was held:
"We played in Memphis in a big charity tournament down there. There is a big family down there that had it, and it was right there that it was the first year or the year we were moving from Houston to Nashville. That whole first year there we played all of our home games in Memphis. I was a representative for the Tennessee Oilers to go play in that tournament, and it was kind of a good deal."
On Panthers FS Mike Adams performance, particularly given his age:
"It is really, really cool, and he is still doing the things and instinctively going and getting the ball. He has a really good feel for playing and I see how Ron has a lot of confidence in him, too. You see the things that he does from a leadership point but a communication point. The safety position is your second guy over there. Usually, the middle linebacker (Panthers MLB Luke) Kuechly does a really good job with that, but then the middle linebacker and the safeties are your big time communicators to getting that whole group in the back end lined up correctly, making checks and/or alerts. He does a good job with the alerts."
